‘The colour will be just perfect with your skin and your hair.’ He looked up at her, a sheepish smile on his face. ‘And those lovely brown eyes.’
She blushed, mouth opening and closing, lost for words. No man had ever bought her clothes before. Not even Matt had done that. James didn’t seem to notice her shock, and carried on talking.
‘I was also thinking it would be better if I give you a lift. There’s engineering works on the line at the moment and people have been telling me how unreliable the train service is. Can’t have you stuck or arriving late, can we?’
Sara was about to answer – say she didn’t think it was a good idea for them to travel together – when he started speaking again. ‘I know you think it’s risky, but I’ve checked and there’s nobody in the centre tomorrow night. So why don’t I pick you up from there? I can bring the dress over, you can get changed in the office, then you can change back into your work clothes on our way home. What do you think?’
Sara didn’t know what to think, or where to start with an answer, her mind still stuck on the fact that he’d bought her a dress. She picked up her beer and took a couple of sips, her eyes firmly on the table.
‘I can’t let you buy me clothes,’ she said eventually. ‘That’s hardly me paying off my debt, is it?’
‘Too late, it’s done, and it was in a sale so can’t be returned.’ He gave her that smile again, and her heart did a little flip. ‘You’ll light up the room. And that will make it all worthwhile.’
What could she say to that? The answer appeared to be nothing, and she found herself agreeing to his proposals in lieu of a better alternative. It’ll be fine, she told herself as she left work that evening, but her stomach was telling her otherwise.
The following day, Sara’s anxiety had notched up to another level completely. She found she couldn’t face lunch, and kept making mistakes as her thoughts filled with everything that could go wrong with the arrangements for her evening out. How could she keep it secret from Matt?
It had been a struggle to tell the lie in the first place, the words hesitant, tasting sour in her mouth, her eyes flitting all over the place as she spoke. But she’d made sure she was busy unloading the dishwasher when she told him so he couldn’t see the guilt on her face and she couldn’t see the frustration in his eyes that his routine would be disturbed. He’d responded with a bang of the door as he stormed off into his office and he hadn’t mentioned it since. His apparent acceptance of the arrangements didn’t make sleep any easier though, her lie chattering inside her head, keeping her awake. She wondered if it would be better to just tell him everything, but each little deception made it harder to come clean and confess the truth.
I’m putting it all right, she told herself. No need for him to know. Just have to be patient.
Once Hailey had taken the girls to football and Matt was busy bathing Ezra, she started to get herself ready. After a quick shower, she did her hair and make-up, then put on a clean set of work clothes – navy trousers and a white blouse – so Matt would believe her story of it being a work event.
‘You’re looking all dolled up,’ he said, coming into the bedroom as she was putting the final touches to her make-up. The mascara wand froze on its way to her lashes for a moment before she carried on with what she was doing, hoping she didn’t look as flustered as she felt.
‘I’ve decided I need to up my game. Fiona and Julia always look so impeccably turned out, I felt quite shabby at the last meeting.’
‘So who else is going to be there?’ he asked. He was trying to sound casual, but she knew it was a loaded question. ‘And what exactly is this incredibly important event you’re going to anyway?’ There was an edge to his voice, and she knew he was put out that she’d taken his work time away from him that evening, delaying his progress.
He was watching her in the mirror, and she glanced down, busied herself packing away her make-up. She kept her voice light, as if this betrayal of trust she was about to embark upon was nothing of any consequence. The knots in her stomach pulled tighter. ‘I told you. It’s an event for board members and managers of voluntary-sector groups. A compliance update. There’re so many new laws about data protection, risk assessment, health and safety, safeguarding…’ She shrugged, gave him a little flicker of a smile. ‘It’s a job to keep up to date with them all. So that’s what it’s for and that’s why it’s important.’
She caught his expression in the mirror, his eyes narrowed, assessing. He doesn’t believe me. Her stomach churned. She’d never been a good liar and she felt her cheeks redden. Just get out of the house, she told herself as she pushed her feet into her shoes and stood, ready to go. It’s like having another job, she reminded herself. That’s all. Nothing bad.
She could sense Matt’s eyes on her, watching every move. ‘What time are you going to be back?’
She halted, realising she had no idea. If they were going to Harrogate, the journey alone would take the best part of forty minutes, and James hadn’t mentioned when he expected the dinner to finish. Perhaps they go on into the night, she thought, wishing she’d got more details. Oh God, what do I say? She pretended to wipe a mark off her shoe, unable to look her husband in the eye. ‘Um, I’m not really sure. Not too late, I don’t think.’
She straightened up, slung her bag over her shoulder and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. ‘I’d better go,’ she said, hurrying out of the bedroom and down the stairs, where she picked up her car keys and made a swift exit before she blurted out the truth. He’d kill me if he knew I was going out with another man. Even if it is only work.
But was it? Or was there a part of her that saw this blossoming relationship with James as something different? A little piece of her heart that was vulnerable to his attentiveness, his thoughtful actions, his interest in her as a person.
She pushed the thought away. Stupid, stupid woman, she chided as she started the car and pulled out of the drive, focusing instead on her family and wondering how the relationships she’d been trying to protect had fallen apart so quickly. The girls weren’t talking to her because she was missing football practice. Matt was annoyed with her for going out when he wanted to get some work done, and even Hailey had been a bit snappy when she came to pick up the girls.
I’ll do this event, just this one, she told herself, feeling a little sick. Then that’s the end of it. I’ll see if I can negotiate another way to repay the money.
She unlocked the community centre and went into the office, where she found a stunning aqua dress hanging behind the door. The fabric had a gorgeous sheen to it and the beautiful cut made it drape softly. Elegant and classy and undeniably expensive, she thought, as she checked the tag. Size 12. Perfect. She wondered how he knew. It was hardly the sort of thing that came up in conversation. There was a matching pair of shoes, and she tried one on, surprised to find that it fitted too. Higher heels than she was used to, but she could manage for one night. Quickly she got herself dressed, carefully folding her work clothes into the bag she’d brought, hiding it under the desk so it would be out of sight if, by some remote chance, someone came into the office.